Dimentio's Offer
by ctj
Summary: Dimentio offers Lady Timpani something that she simply can't refuse. Pre-Game, R&R, T for a reason. Warning: Contains strong emotions that I have never felt. This is not humor. Laugh and be pwnd.


**Dimentio's Offer**

_By TJ_

It is a theory widely acknowledged that a dinner spent in silence where each participant stares at another uncomfortably is generally an awkward one.

Blumiere sat at the end of the table, watching his platter in a brooding fashion. Lady Timpani, whose concerned eyes never left Blumiere, sat beside him. Dimentio, who was being watched distrustfully by Mimi, kept a steady, shady gaze on the unsuspecting Lady Timpany.

O'Chunks, who only moments before had been singing his heart out and "drinkin' to thar bluddy souls", had now passed out on the ground and was staring at the backs of his eyelids in bliss.

Mimi kept a watchful eye on Dimentio, his hard, stern expression so blank that it was its own mask. The nose pointy and long, the eyes bloodshot but otherwise expressionless, the mouth drawn into a tight line. That mouth, she knew, had once smiled a lot.

Blumiere sat and kept his eyes set on his uneaten food in silence and concern.

His tribe knew that he and Timpani were in hiding. The longer that they hid, the harder the Tribe of Darkness looked for them. The death of the traitors- that was what the Tribe aimed for. They couldn't hide here much longer, but there was nowhere else to go.

Timpani squeezed his hand underneath the table reassuringly, but Blumiere, a natural coward, was afraid to meet her eyes.

O'Chunks grunted from his spot on the carpet.

The dinner continued without anybody speaking. Usually, supper was a lively affair, but these past few days had been spent in grave silence between the residents of Castle Blumiere.

When the clinking of ceramic had subsided and the meal was finished, Blumiere glanced up from beneath the brim of his hat and addressed Dimentio for the first time that evening.

"Stop looking at her."

With great hesitation, Dimentio moved his gaze to meet Blumiere's.

"Blumiere? You spoke?"

"Your eyes," Blumiere replied through gritted teeth, "do not belong on Lady Timpani."

"Surely," Dimentio answered in a similar fashion, "you don't expect me to waste them on _you_."

Blumiere sat up straighter and clenched his fists, but relaxed as Timpani squeezed his wrist gently.

"There's no worth in arguing," she advised.

"The Lady is right," Dimentio replied coolly, "we quarrel like cats. …Mimi? Why are you so high-strung?"

Mimi had grown tense.

"Perhaps we should go to the drawing room," suggested the Lady to the others to break through the suddenly awkward moment.

Dimentio smirked. "Indeed." He kicked O'Chunks. "Get up, you filthy mutt! We're going to play chess!"

In the drawing room, the residents of Castle Blumiere situated themselves in their usual comfortable spots. Mimi sat at the card table, playing against herself.

Blumiere and Timpani resided on the sofa in the corner before the hearth, speaking to each other in hushed tones.

Dimentio sat lazily across from O'Chunks at the chess table.

Mimi screamed in rage.

"Really, Mimi, you ought not to shout," Dimentio warned casually.

"But I lost at cards again!"

"Against yourself?"

"Well, yes…"

"Ruddy brilliant, that makes yeh," O'Chunks piped up, moving his Rook and knocking out Dimentio's bishop. Dimentio smirked.

"Yeh got somethin' up yer sleeve, don't yeh?" asked O'Chunks.

"But _really_," said Mimi, "I still haven't beaten your record, Dimentio!"

"Mimi, by now I'm sure you realize that you will _never _beat my record. Never. Checkmate, Chunky."

O'Chunks roared in anger and upturned the chess table.

"You're a jerk, Dimentio, you know that?"

"Of course I do. It's common knowledge."

Dimentio stared back at the ceiling, his crooked smile still plastered onto his countenance.

In the corner of the drawing room, Blumiere and Timpani sat in silence.

"Blumiere?" asked Timpani softly. "Blumiere? Can you hear me?"

"I hear you," he replied, even more quietly. He kept his eyes on the flames before them with a concentrated gaze.

"What is it?"

"It won't be long, now," whispered Blumiere. His face looked even more pale, more cadaverous, and more upset than ever.

"Don't worry about our parents," Timpani pleaded. "They can't do anything. You have me. I have you. And we have Dimentio here, Dimentio is strong."

Blumiere cast his eyes to the floor. "That's what I'm afraid of."

One by one, the residents of the drawing room stood and retired to their bedchambers with glazed eyes. Mimi was followed by O'Chunks, narrowing the room down to three people.

As soon as this happened, Dimentio turned around in his seat and watched Blumiere and Timpani with a casual smile. The moment, the trio realized, had grown increasingly awkward.

Blumiere was the first to acknowledge this, and in celebration of such a scene, rose to his feet and departed with a few kind words. Timpani and Dimentio were left alone in the drawing room, and Dimentio could feel his heart begin to pound.

Timpani pulled a book from a mahogany shelf and read silently to herself.

"What are you reading, Lady Timpani?"

"A book," she replied simply, not really in the mood to speak with Dimentio.

"I see. What type of book?"

"A good kind."

"A matter of opinion, I suppose," said Dimentio.

Timpani shut the book and looked at Dimentio in irritation. "Do you fancy yourself a gentleman, Dimentio?"

"Hardly a gentleman," he answered. "Gentlemen are simple. I am far too complex."

"And why would you say that?"

"Well," said Dimentio, rising to his feet and approaching Timpani, his hands behind his back, "I think that gentlemen have a knack of keeping things to themselves. I am much better at releasing those emotions than keeping them in."

"I have never seen you act in such a manner."

"I let out my feelings in the pleasure of my own company."

"You have feelings?"

She didn't realize how she had just insulted him. Dimentio was so hurt by these three words alone, that for several moments, he couldn't think straight. He, not have feelings? Dimentio felt many things. A great many things, in fact. His emotions reached both extremes, farther than the range of Blumiere, farther than the range of Timpani, and much farther than any of them would have dared to believe. Even he, Dimentio, was sometimes shocked at the depth of his love for Lady Timpani and the burning of his hatred for Blumiere.

_You have feelings?_

Dimentio could feel his eyes burn with sudden sorrow. The moment moved around him.

Now was the time, he realized. The time to put into action a plan that he had long held close to him, waiting for just the right moment.

"I am a man," Dimentio said shakily. "Every man has feelings."

Timpani could see his hurt. "I'm sorry, Dimentio."

Dimentio sighed. "I must tell you something, Lady Timpani. You may be shocked to hear it."

She sat up straighter and watched him, her eyes and ears alert.

"For a long time, now," he began, "I have been… captivated… by you. Your compassion, your gentleness, your manner… it's all so different from what I've been taught. You have shown more kindness to me than any other in the world, any other in my life. Like… like a beacon."

His words were simple, but the veiled magic behind the straightforward language played a different tune to Lady Timpani's ears than they would to another. It took control of her brain in a new way. Out of nowhere, Timpani could feel herself growing weak and her mind going a bit foggy here and there.

Dimentio was one heck of a sorcerer.

"You must understand, Lady Timpani, love is something I have never felt before now. When I first felt it, not too long after I met you, it was quite foreign."

Sorcery, however, was not enough to help Dimentio hold his ground. He was weak- this he knew. It was easy to fight other people in battle, and it was easy to enter a situation that you might not survive, but this was the most life-changing war he had yet to face.

"I tried to suppress it, but my efforts were in vain. You became the subject of my waking life, and as my hatred for Blumiere arose, you were the reason that I lived. And although I remain casual around a group, my solitude is spent in agony and despair. Yes, Lady Timpani, I've spent many nights awake, and every second I have spent dwelling on you."

Dimentio began to realize just how sappy he was getting. It was time to pick up the pace. He could see that Timpani was starting to get confused.

"Now, Lady Timpani, I must ask you a question. Are you happy hiding with Blumiere? Will you ever be able to stay here with him, knowing that at any moment the Tribe of Darkness could come knocking on the door and tear your love apart?"

"I… I think," Timpani answered. She was mostly thinking straight, but it was difficult to formulate words.

"Thinking will not be enough," Dimentio said. "You still have not realized the full extent of my power. My name is not just a name. It is a meaning. I can flip between dimensions- travel through time and space, you see- to the point where nobody would ever be able to find me. It's quite the trick, if I do say so myself."

Timpani's eyes lit up. "Oh, Dimentio!" she exclaimed, getting to her feet. "This is wonderful! You can help Blumiere and I, you can bring us to another dimension! Then we'll be safe!"

"Well, Timpani," said Dimentio. "That might not work out so well. I think I may have already mentioned that Blumiere and I… well, we're not exactly on the best terms, now, are we?"

Timpani frowned. "What are you saying?"

"The Tribe of Darkness," said Dimentio, "wants you dead. Blumiere is their kind- if they find you two, they will let him live. But _you_- you they will kill without mercy. Lady Timpani, I will not let that happen to you. That is why I am asking you- run away with _me_, Lady Timpani. Travel to another dimension with me by your side. Blumiere will stay here- eventually, he will be found. He will live out his life regularly, and, eventually, he will go back to life without you. You will not have to worry for him, and he will not have to worry for you. It works out nicely, you see."

"Nicely? I love Blumiere! I would give up my life for him!"

"But, Lady Timpani," he said, rushing forward and taking her hand, "I wouldn't. I don't want you dying for him. It is not worth it."

"It is to me."

"Surely you wouldn't want to break two hearts by dying! Lady, Please- just hear me out."

"Why are you so determined on me dying?"

"Do not accuse me of that!" cried Dimentio. "I would never allow your death by my treacherous deeds- because, as you and I both know, I am no gentleman.

"But forgive me- I jest. Now, Lady Timpani, how will you return my offer?"

Timpani's frown increased as Dimentio began to invade her mind again. Her brow knit together. "I feel violated," she stated finally. "What makes you think that I… that I could ever…?"

Dimentio's eyes narrowed, and the corners of his moth twitched into a crooked smile. He began to pace about Lady Timpani, making sure to invade her mind even more heavily than before.

"I do not doubt you, My Lady," he said. Despite his calm manner, he could feel the agony appearing prematurely. He had promised himself determination and no pain.

He was, he realized, remarkable good at breaking promises.

"I know," he continued, "what you consider him- a coward."

Timpani turned to Dimentio, who stood behind her.

"Ex-Excuse me?"

"When you look at him- Blumiere, I mean- your face is filled with shame. You are ashamed of his cowardice."

Timpani did not respond- she stood silently, her face firm, her eyes wet, fully hypnotized by Dimentio's words.

"For many months, now, I have hoped that you would realize this, and look at me, and see _my _value. But, alas- no."

She watched him in silent horror as he seduced her, a single tear crawling down her cheek.

"You and I," Dimentio continued, pacing towards her again, "could make a powerful pair. We could flee this place. Leave this dimension. We would be free. You could blow your troubles away. Leave them behind. Forget them."

As he spoke, he drew closer to her, and his hands were never still. They would play with her hair, then toy with the frills of her dress, and then caress her cheek.

"Free, Timpani. Free."

They were so close now that Timpani could see the passionate tears brewing in the frames of his eyes, but still she wouldn't respond. She was paralyzed by the moment, and noticed only how very defined the lines were in Dimentio's face. Not by age, but by stress and love and anger and triumph and defeat and loss. Over and over again. A cycle of folds. That face, so mask-like and empty from far away. So terrifying and passionate when seen up close.

And then, so quietly that he was barely breathing it into her ear: "Let it go."

Their eyes were both closed, but they were close enough to feel their hearts beating against the other's chest.

Dimentio's fingers found Timpani's skin, and he traced her face and, slowly, their lips met.

Timpani couldn't move- Dimentio's power was too strong, holding her in place.

Her will power slowly faded, until she was kissing him back, and cursing him between breaths, and begging the spirits to open the floor beneath them and drag Dimentio down to the Underwhere.

They groped at each other in agony, the most malicious feelings in both of their chests, as they lost control of what was going on. Finally, in an act of remorse, Dimtnio pulled away and stared at Timpani long and hard. Each face was washed with the tears of the other.

Timpnai was so fully hypnotized by Dimentio that she could barely move a muscle- only her mind stayed a bit in control, and she knew that something, _something_, wasn't right.

"Let her go."

Both people suddenly came to their senses. Timpani shrieked and jumped back in fear. Dimentio clenched his fists.

"What do you desire, Mimi?" exclaimed Dimentio.

"I said _leave her alone_, you big meanie!"

Dimentio's face became an expressionless mask once more. "Why are you here?"

"I saw you watching her at supper, and was concerned. When nobody came up the stairs, I decided to come down and check… and found you two… doing things."

Timpani watched the conversation in horror, shaking and traumatized.

Dimentio's face hardened. He turned to Timpani. "What do you say to my offer?"

"You terrible, foul man," said Timpani shakily. "You don't have feelings after all."

Dimentio took one last gaze at her with the most honest eyes that Mimi had ever seen him wear, and then fled the room swiftly, knocking over a vase on the way out.

"It was such a nice vase, too," muttered Mimi. "Pity."

She turned around just in time to see Timpani break into tears.

"Oh! C'mere, sweetie," she said, wrapping an arm around Timpani as she sank to the floor.

"He- …-he tried to…"

"Shhh… it's okay… it's all okay, now."

And with these words, Timpani cried freely and ceaselessly into Mimi's shoulder.

Dimentio bounded up the marble staircase and entered his bed chamber, where he slammed the door shut and fell face first onto his bed. Tears came before he could stop them, and he hid his face in the covers.

_I let out my feelings in the pleasure of my own company._

_You have feelings?_

Timpani. Timpani. Timpani.

He had never expected it to hurt this badly.

Dimentio knew what to do next- he got to his feet, and warped out of the castle with a quick _crack_.

The following day was a grave one. The Tribe of Darkness showed up at the door of Castle Blumiere, guided by Dimentio. They proceeded to knock down the walls, and get a hold of Timpani and Blumiere. Dimentio watched from his open window as Blumiere's father began to beat Timpani harshly.

She caught sight of Dimentio watching and began to scream at him. Her words would stay imprinted in his ears forever. And he watched as she was nearly killed, and then warped to a new world. Blumiere was then taken by his father into a coach, which sped off swiftly through the mud and into the depths of the forest.

Dimentio raised his face to the rain and screamed loudly. Lightning flashed, the rain continued to pour, and yet he still howled and cried outside into the empty forest like a savage.

Blumiere had vowed to return. O'Chunks and Mimi, likewise, had promised to come back when he summoned them.

And Dimentio would stick around a little longer, a new plan forming in his head.

And no matter how cunning or evil he was to become, Timpani's words never left his head.

He could see her face as she screamed at him when Blumiere's father beat her.

_Dimentio! If you had really loved me… you would have let me go!_

**End**

_A/N: I would say that this is probably the darkest thing I have ever written. –Shudders-_

_Yeah, it's pretty sick. I don't know what brought it on. Probably the Dimentio obsession. And it's the FIRST TIME that any two characters in my writing have made it to first base! –Cue flamingoes and snazzy background dancers-_

_Oh, and I didn't proofread. You all know how it is._

_SO the REAL point of this note is to tell all you wonderful people out there that I have a picture I drew/colored on GIMP based on this story posted on deviantART. The username is DAsuckslikeavacuum. Don't judge. Yeah, and the picture is just as frightening as the story. DON'T WORRY, though, because I'll go back to writing fluff for Dragon Tales as soon as I get the chance. Until then- Ciao!_


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